Which African cities offer the best quality of life?

Consulting firm Mercer recently published its 18th Quality of Living Survey, which ranks 230 cities they believe provide the best quality of life.

The study examines over 440 cities, and based on certain criteria, Mercer then decides which 230 make the cut. The cities are chosen and ranked according to a variety of factors, such as the political and social environment, economic conditions, education, and public services, to name a few.

This annual study is viewed as one of the best of its kind, and as such, a city’s ‘quality of living’ can be an important factor when employers consider where to assign their mobile employees.

Only five African cities are ranked in the top 100. Port Louis (83) in Mauritius – according to the survey – has the best quality of living on the continent. It is followed by South African cities Durban (85), Cape Town (92) and Johannesburg (95), with Victoria (97) in the Seychelles featuring in 97th position.

The majority of the lower rankings are dominated by African cities. A few that are placed near the bottom-end are Bangui (239), Khartoum (226), N’Djamena (225), Brazzaville (223) and Kinshasa (222).

Quality of life survey rankings: African cities

RANKING IN AFRICA

RANKING IN WORLD

CITY

COUNTRY

1

83

Port Louis

Mauritius

2

85

Durban

South Africa

3

92

Cape Town

South Africa

4

95

Johannesburg

South Africa

5

97

Victoria

Seychelles

6

113

Tunis

Tunisia

7

116

Rabat

Morocco

8

126

Casablanca

Morocco

9

131

Windhoek

Namibia

10

142

Gaborone

Botswana

11

149

Lusaka

Zambia

12

162

Dakar

Senegal

13

163

Libreville

Gabon

14

166

Accra

Ghana

15

169

Kampala

Uganda

16

171

Cairo

Egypt

17

175

Blantyre

Malawi

18

178

Maputo

Mozambique

19

181

Cotonou

Benin

20

183

Banjul

Gambia

21

184

Nairobi

Kenya

22

187

Algiers

Algeria

23

189

Djibouti

Djibouti

24

191

Kigali

Rwanda

25

194

Yaounde

Cameroon

26

196

Douala

Cameroon

27

198

Dar es Salaam

Tanzania

28

199

Luanda

Angola

29

204

Lome

Togo

30

206

Abidjan

Côte d'Ivoire

31

207

Addis Ababa

Ethiopia

32

209

Harare

Zimbabwe

33

211

Lagos

Nigeria

34

212

Abuja

Nigeria

35

215

Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso

36

217

Niamey

Niger

37

218

Antananarivo

Madagascar

38

219

Bamako

Mali

39

220

Nouakchott

Mauritania

40

221

Conakry

Guinea

41

222

Kinshasa

Congo, Democratic Republic of

42

223

Brazzaville

Congo, Republic of

43

225

N'Djamena

Chad

44

226

Khartoum

Sudan

45

229

Bangui

Central African Republic

Safety rankings

Mercer also published a second list that ranks cities according to the security and personal safety of expats and their families. Five out the 10 least-safe cities in the world are African. They are Bangui (227), Kinshasa (226), Nairobi (224), Conakry (223) and Khartoum (222).

Safety plays a big role in the decision process multinationals undergo when they consider sending expat workers abroad. These rankings can assist multinationals to fairly compensate, and provide for, employees that are placed on international assignments.

In a press release, Ilya Bonic, senior partner and president of Mercer’s talent business, expanded on the topic:

“Heightened domestic and global security threats, population displacement resulting from violence, and social unrest in key business centres around the world are all elements adding to the complex challenge facing multinational companies when analysing the safety and health of their expatriate workforces. Multinational companies need accurate data and objective methods to determine the cost implications of deteriorating living standards and personal safety issues when compensating expatriates.”